I'm Bryan and live at the top of a mountain in North Wales. I'm Scottish by birth and was brought up in North Yorkshire - what a mixture! I have a bit of a quandary with regards to cooking - I'm not entirely sure that I enjoy it (sometimes I get very flustered and frustrated) but I love to eat nice stuff (for example, tonight we're having squid with lemon, garlic and cummin). I'm OK following recipes but lack the skills to really experiment - hopefully that will come with practice. I'm the one that tends to do most of the cooking in our house (just me and my wife). I'm hoping that by becoming a member of this forum I may get some tips to give me some flair? I've recently sorted my kitchen out so I've actually got some space to do stuff.

I'm Bryan and live at the top of a mountain in North Wales. I'm Scottish by birth and was brought up in North Yorkshire - what a mixture! I have a bit of a quandary with regards to cooking - I'm not entirely sure that I enjoy it (sometimes I get very flustered and frustrated) but I love to eat nice stuff (for example, tonight we're having squid with lemon, garlic and cummin). I'm OK following recipes but lack the skills to really experiment - hopefully that will come with practice. I'm the one that tends to do most of the cooking in our house (just me and my wife). I'm hoping that by becoming a member of this forum I may get some tips to give me some flair? I've recently sorted my kitchen out so I've actually got some space to do stuff.

Happy New Year to you all,

B

Hi, welcome to DC

The skills to experiment come with experience. You cook something from a recipe and eat it and think "I wonder what this would be like with cinnamon instead of basil" and you try it and it's OK, or amazing, or disgusting and you learn something from the experience. Or perhaps you start on a recipe that needs a lemon, you haven't got one so you try an orange.

Keep an open mind and go for it and don't be afraid to ask the DC people.

__________________Don’t look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Stomp along and switch the bl**dy thing on yourself.

Greetings from north Hampshire Bryan and welcome to the DC - I have had loads of tips and great recipes from the lovely people here - somebody nearly always knows the answer no matter what the question is!